Football Opens Season At No. 5 LSU On SaturdayDENTON (8/29/05) - North Texas (0-0) opens the 2005 season at No. 5 Louisiana State (0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 3. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. There is no TV broadcast, but the game will be carried by the Mean

DENTON (8/29/05) - North Texas (0-0) opens the 2005 season at No. 5 Louisiana State (0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 3. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. There is no TV broadcast, but the game will be carried by the Mean Green Radio Network.

North Texas returns nine starters from a team that went 7-5 and won its fourth straight Sun Belt Conference championship. The Mean Green has also played in four straight bowl games. Louisiana State finished 9-3 in 2004, finishing second in the SEC West Division. The Tigers are currently ranked fifth in the nation with the seventh best rushing defense (99.8 ypg) and 20th ranked rushing offense (193.8) in the country back from last season.

North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey is in his eighth year at North Texas and has an overall record of 37-46, including a 30-12 conference record. He has been named the Coach of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference in each of the last four seasons after leading the Mean Green to four conference championships and New Orleans Bowl appearances. Dickey has faced LSU just one time as a head coach, losing 52-0 in Baton Rouge in 1999. Les Miles takes the reigns of the LSU program after a four year stay as the head coach at Oklahoma State. The 2002 Big XII Coach of the Year, Miles compiled a 28-21 record at OSU and led the Cowboys to three straight bowl games.

This will be the third meeting between North Texas and LSU, with the Tigers holding a 101-7 scoring edge over the Mean Green. LSU took the first game in the series 49-7 in 1995, and the second 52-0 in 1999. However, this will be the first meeting the Mean Green will face a nationally-ranked LSU squad. The Tigers enter the season ranked fifth in the country.

North Texas flagship station is KWRD 100.7 FM in the greater Dallas metroplex. George Dunham (play-by-play) and Hank Dickenson (color) will provide the call. The game can also be heard on North Texas campus radio KNTU 88.1, on KPXI 100.7 FM in the Tyler/Longview area or on KAFR 88.3 FM in Houston. The live broadcast of the game can be accessed on the internet through MeanGreenSports.